Don't Run Away
by DemonicPandaDoll
Summary: Feeling nostalgic, Abyss goes over in her head her history as a Gods Eater, while the present goes on almost the same. Almost. Oneshot. SPOILERS IF YOU HAVEN'T PLAYED VERY FAR!


Haha, oneshot before I actually make a real story for this. I hope it goes well.

I do not own this game in legal rights, but I bought it. PS, some of the places on here don't exist in the game, but I wanted to use them. Enjoy! ^_^

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><p>Days go by, turning into night here at the Old City. It's one of my favorite places to be, though, not many people have seen the charm quite like I have. Abandoned since the Aragami attacked, and even when they decrease in numbers, no one seems to pay this place any mind. No people, no animals, heck, most of the plants have even vanished. Nothing here but the broken buildings and the endless sky, painted so brilliantly overhead. Until night hits, it feels like the world is trapped at dawn and dusk. Like it can hold tranquility when nowhere else can.<p>

I was seated in the old cathedral, still royal and elegant, though riddled with debris and crumbling away. There's a nice hole in the side where the sun shines inward. I always loved climbing up there and staring at the sky. I could be there for hours, if the Far East Branch didn't call me so often to complete missions.

I was what the little kids wanted to be, and what many parents held dread for; A Gods Eater. New-Type, more specifically, but unless you actually fought as one, it didn't seem to matter. I liked to use my sword, but I can't say my gun hasn't pulled me out of a few tough spots. The same thing through every mission, however, is the fear of death.

Sometimes I wonder how I was still alive. Some of the Aragami are big, vicious too. There have been plenty of battles where I got knocked out a good deal of times before we finally finished off our enemy. Or when my partners needed me to do the saving. Oh well, I'm just happy I'm able to do my job, get my pay, and actually get food for my work.

But anyway, back to why I was in the remains of the city. Recently, since saving Lindow, I've been in the mood to just sit around and remember the past. Too many missions had piled up, so I didn't get any time to just sit around until now. The Aragami had settled for the moment. So here I was, in my spot.

My first mission happened to be in this very place, where Lindow and I hunted some Ogretail. I remember how frightening they were at first, how I could barely hold my own against them. Now, they were the easiest things in the world to kill. Guess I have Lindow to thank for that. He was such a nice guy when I first met him, and he's still always full of jokes and happiness.

I am the Leader of First Unit. Have been since Lindow went missing. Seemed like just yesterday Alisa had shot the ceiling of the cathedral, and that was the last we'd seen of the guy. Alisa. We all knew it had been an accident, that she just wasn't fully okay in the head. She ended up being one of the strongest people to stay with us. I'm just happy she never gave up.

There's also Sakuya, and she's always been on my case for being so reckless during our missions. It's sweet, like she's my older sister or something. I'm really happy I was able to bring Lindow back to her. Seeing her that happy in so long really brightened this job up for me.

I can't forget Kota, either. He shocked us all with his decision to help us instead of going along with the Ark Project. I can't say I didn't think he was lazy. Everytime we were in class, he was asleep. But still, his dedication to his family is inspiring. No matter what he chose, I would've understood.

Just as I was about to think of the last person on my list, he appeared next to me, hood up and everything. Soma. The mysterious, half-Aragami that harbored such a hate for his now deceased father. He's saved me plenty of times too. It's pretty sad that Shio had to go. Soma liked her so much, it wasn't even funny. She always made him happy, even if he didn't want to admit it. We all saw it.

I can't say I didn't like Soma. Heck, it was the complete opposite. Though, I wouldn't admit it ever. Especially after everything with Shio happened. Though, I did show him, and everyone, that I was a protective, understanding, caring leader. Even if it meant saving my comrades, I'd throw myself in any hungry Aragami's way.

Soma sat next to me, looking up at the sky as well. The sun was going down, an assumption I made since it was getting darker steadily. Around us, the world fell into a twilight daze. I thought it was pretty, but then again, I found this entire place beautiful. I was probably being biased.

"Why are you out here without your God Arc," Soma finally asked in that cool, uncaring tone of his. Indeed, I had intentionally left my God Arc back at the Den, figuring I wouldn't need it. Not right now, anyway. They were shipping us out on a mission later, and we wouldn't be back until the daytime. I called it camping, but Director Sakaki told me not to get my hopes up.

I merely shrugged, my eyes never leaving the sky up above. "We cleared out the Zygotes and that Sarial that were here yesterday. This place will be clear for a good bit of time." Namely, two days, if we were lucky. Aragami appeared fast. It was hard to keep the numbers down. I finally glanced at Soma, smirking. "Why are you here," I questioned him, innocent enough as I was. Black hair, red eyes, innocent, sad face. I wasn't much of a threat.

Instead of answering with words, Soma pointed up. I checked, and, much to my shock, the moon was glowing through a giant, clear patch in the clouds. I instantly knew his answer, and nodded. Shio. She'd disappeared by taking Nova to the moon. Even if she made it sound like she wanted to eat it, I think she just knew she had to get Nova away from here. Sweet girl. I still wish she was with us, that she didn't have to go.

Soma and I sat there quietly, just staring at the moon, each of us just locked away in our own worlds. I kinda wish I knew what went through his head all the time. He was such a quiet guy, so he was probably thinking all the time. But, what was he thinking about? What was it?

By and by, the clouds slowly engulfed the moon, cutting off the light of it that reached us. We were almost in complete darkness, and any animal or bug that even dared to still be around here made no sounds. It was creepy, but, I was used to it. We had to be.

"We should head back," Soma broke through the silence, shuffling indicating that he was standing up. "Paylor sent me to get you." Guess that was the other reason he had come out here for nothing. I was quick to my feet, hopping off the ledge with Soma following. Time for us to get going again.

It was always the same thing, just in a different way.

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><p>We were being sent to a remote village near a beach, to deal with any Aragami that might be there. Even though Second Until had done that the day before yesterday. Who were we to argue though? When Fenrir gave you an order, you had to jump at it. Otherwise, you could be in some serious trouble.<p>

A lot of people were being sent, too. There was Kanon, Karel, Kota, Alisa, Shun, Gina, Soma, and myself. I considered that a lot, but hey, I might be wrong. After all, I was the leader, not a mathmatician.

We set up camp as soon as we arrived, and broke ourselves up amongst ourselves. However, I sat alone. My nostalgia hadn't yet worn off, and this place was also too familiar. My first fluke.

That was maybe my third mission, and I was out with Soma, Kota, and Lindow. We were at this same place, hunting down a Gboro Gboro. I'm not exactly sure why Kota and I were there, since we were rookies. Maybe because there was a shortage of people. Anyway, as we're rounding a corner that had a street lamp on, the Aragami popped out. Lindow ordered the attack, and like that, everyone leapt into action. Except me.

I froze.

There were two reasons behind that. First, the thing came out of nowhere. So, I was actually frightened a little by it. The second part was the moths. No, not some weird Aragami moth, just regular moths, but there was a lot of them, and for some reason, I was their target. They all encircled me, flew against me, I was surrounded. It really confused and startled me, and I tried to make them leave, which failed miserably.

All the time, Soma was yelling for me to pay attention and to fight, but I was almost out of my mind from the confusion. Apparently, the Gboro Gboro noticed, and decided to shoot at me. I didn't get hit though. Soma tackled me out of the way, and the impact of hitting the ground made me snap into reality. He was yelling at me, calling me stupid, useless, worthless even. Kota tried to make him stop, but with the Gboro Gboro still living, he had to fight that. I ended up running away in tears. I never forgot what Soma last yelled at me.

"Don't run away!"

I kept going though, eventually coming two roads. One lead to the beach, the other lead back to the Den. I stood there for a good five minutes before walking to the beach, my God Arc still with me. There were Aragami there too, and they quickly took the offensive and attacked me. They were just some Ogretails though, and because of my panicked state, I finished them quickly. After that, I just walked down the beach by myself, eventually reaching the end, where there was a fire pit and some tree stumps. People had been there before. I doubted they would ever return there.

So I sat, and let the time pass me by. Once my nerves were relaxed, and I felt like I was alright, I got up and started for home. I was under the impression that the others were ahead of me, but when Lindow called my name from behind me, I learned how wrong I was. Kota asked where I was, and why I had disappeared. I didn't answer either, and Lindow told him to leave the subject at that before taking us all home. Something about his smirk told me he knew that I had done some work. I wasn't punished for abandoning my comrades. In fact, the branch never seemed to know.

Since then I haven't had a fluke up like that, but it's still a huge shame to me, because I still know I did it. Soma does too. Wonder if he still thinks of me as a coward. I really hoped he didn't. He was the one person I wanted to impress and protect most.

As if on some unusual whim, three polar Gboro Gboros leapt out from practically nowhere, splashing us and growling at us, showing us their gnarly teeth. Everyone made quick grabs for their God Arcs, and attacked. I saw a flashback occur, because just like that, moths swarmed me. What the hell was it with moths liking me anyway?

There was no time to lose. I swung at them with my God Arc, killing most, then hurried to battle. Through the blasts of gun shots and the slashes from other swords, I got some nice slashes in, my own God Arc releasing poison into our enemies. The battle raged fiercely, and I was sure we had the upper hand, when I saw Soma get knocked back by one, then the other started to charge.

My body reacted before my mind could compute. I rushed over there, leaping over Alisa's swung God Arc. Just as the beast was almost at Soma, I got there, deploying my shield and pulling him right next to me. Right behind the shield. The impact made my arm feel like jello for a few seconds, but it subsided, and we all sprang again into battle. Soma even got back on his feet relatively fast. Then again, why would you expect less from someone partially Aragami?

When the monsters were dead, the girls, aside from Gina, cheered excitedly. Everyone was talking and musing over what happened, and yet, my nostalgia was still acting up, despite the fact that we'd just won a great fight. I started to leave for the beach, and passed Soma as I walked. When we were parallel, I said to him, in a voice only he would hear, "I didn't run away this time."

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><p>When I arrived at the split roads, I stood there, looking between them as I had that time ago. However, something felt different... Sounded different too. I turned around, and saw them. My team. Everyone had followed me, headed by the ever-curious Kota.<p>

"Where are you going, Leader," he asked, making me smirk. It seemed like no one used my name nowadays. I was just Leader. It wasn't a bad thing, but it made me feel like they only saw me as authority, and not a friend. Kota was an exception though. He was just Kota.

"I'm going to the beach..." I realized at that point that Soma wasn't with them. It was disappointing, but whatever, my team and friends didn't have to suffer because of that. "Come with me you guys. Let's all relax and hang out before we have to go home."

With curious eyes, they followed me, showing once more that I was their leader. I was leading them somewhere they didn't seem to know about. An adventure to them, and a journey called a memory for me.

Without Aragami around, this place was pretty nice. I would probably remember to return here another night to just get away. Of course, I'd bring my God Arc this time. I had to be careful. For all of them.

When we arrived, they seemed pretty relieved. Shun was kind enough to light a fire, and we all sat around, talking, smiling, laughing too. For once, we weren't just the Gods Eaters. This time, we were also just regular people.

I was engrossed in a story Kota was telling everyone about something his sister did when I saw, in my peripheral vision, someone sit next to me on my tree stump. I turned my head curiously. Soma. For some reason, Kota's story seemed far away now, even when I tried to listen. It was lost to me now.

"Thanks for saving me earlier," Soma muttered, his face darkened by the glow of the fire. I merely smiled, shrugging.

"Well, we're even now, aren't we Soma?" It finally occured to me that, ever since I arrived at the Den, I was one of the people that never treated Soma like a disease. I never even got mad at him. I was always nice to him. Nice to everyone, but him most of all.

Everyone seemed to be in their own worlds, and that seemed to give Soma courage. Not like he needed courage, or so I thought. Before my mind registered what was happening, I was in his arms, in such a gentle hug. I just leaned against him, thinking back to every encounter I had with him. None were like this. Hell, all of them were far from him ever hugging me. So, what was up now?

He released me after a few seconds, standing and turning to me. "You want to go for a walk or something? It's too loud here." I looked around. Nope, no one noticed anything still. Maybe because I had already talked about something in my life, they weren't paying attention. Maybe.

When I looked back to Soma, he had a hand outstretched for me to take. There was no harm in saying no; After all, Soma was just as human as the rest of us. Beating heart, pulsing blood, and a conscious. So I took his hand, and we began to leave.

"Soma," I started, finally deciding to sum up my own courage. "What are you thinking about most of the time? You're always so quiet." I sounded a lot dumber than I'd imagined. And Soma even chuckled lightly. Just because I was a leader, it didn't mean my speaking skills were perfect.

"Well, we have all night. I guess I can tell you a few things. If you don't mind, Abyss."

My face lit. Someone actually used my name instead of just referring to me as "Leader." It was a pretty nice feeling, one I was sure to remember in the days to come. "I don't mind at all," I responded, the light slowly fading, the fire slowly dying away from us.

And if one of those people by the fire had only taken a second to turn around, they would've seen two silhouettes look at each other, their faces meeting for just a second or two before they walked on, disappearing in the night.

And the advice we give to every young recruit that joins our ranks?

"Don't run away."

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><p>Meh, random story I created. I've been playing the game a lot, and had a weird dream last night, so this story is based on the dream I had. Hope you enjoyed. Bye.<p> 


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